Greg McLawsen

Client Choice Award - Immigration Lawyer

Gustavo Cueva wins Client Choice Award

Associate attorney Gustavo Cueva has received the a 2016 Client Choice Award from Avvo in the field of immigration - a result of the very high ratings given to him by former clients. I'm very proud of the excellent work…

Video: Adjustment of Status from ESTA/Visa Waiver Program

This post provides a basic overview for assisting clients who enter the United States on the Visa Waiver Program and wish to seek adjustment of status. The post provided as the written materials that accompany today's webinar on the topic…

Video: Agile project management for any lawyer

Busyness is the plague of Lawyerdom. Yet while lawyers claim busyness as a merit badge, our clients don't care if we're busy - only if we're productive. Fortunately there is an entire professional discipline devoted to the art and science…

Darwin Talk: KPIs for the New Legal Consumer – Sachin Bhatia, Chief Product Officer, Avvo

Sachin Bhatia, Chief Product Officer for Avvo, speaks on how law firms can use Key Performance Indicators to develop better client service. This talk was hosted on April 21, 2016 by Evolve Law in Seattle, WA.

Tech set-up CLE (1.5 credit), June 1, 2016 – Seattle

Greg McLawsen will be speaking at Seattle University's Access to Justice Institute on June 1, 2016 (noon) about setting up technology for law practice. 1.5 CLE credits are pending approval for Washington State attorneys. Attendance is free. Learn more here.

Video: Family-Based Immigration Consultations 101

Today we broadcast a webinar on the topic of how to conduct initial consultations with family-based immigration clients. The event was hosted by the New Members Division of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (Washington Chapter). The speaker is John Wheaton,…

How do I file an I-751 waiver?

If your U.S. citizen/resident spouse will not cooperate with your I-751 petition, you need to seek a waiver of the joint-filing requirement. There are three waiver possible strategies available. You are allowed to pursue one or more than of these…

How can I report marriage immigration fraud?

There are two main ways to file a report of marriage immigration fraud: Homeland Security Investigations (HIS) office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). ICE is the enforcement arm of the immigration agencies - think of them as the immigration…

Sound Immigration featured as example of innovative law firm

Thanks to the publishing team over at Avvo! They recently featured Sound Immigration as an example of a law firm using creativity to deliver services to the New Legal Consumer. We were interviewed for a white paper, Sink or swim:…

Webinar: Adjustment of Status from ESTA/VWP (May 24, 2016 – noon)

When: Tuesday, May 24, 2016 from 12:00 PM to 12:30 PM (PDT). If a foreign national comes to the U.S. on ESTA/VWP, is she elligible to adjust status to permanent resident? Learn the ropes in this free 30-minute webinar. CLE…

What goes into an I-864 Affidavit of Support lawsuit complaint?
I’ve been representing clients in lawsuits to enforce the USCIS Form I-864, Affidavit of Support for about a decade at this point. Over that time, I’ve made a lot of changes to the template that we use for federal lawsuit complaints. (A complaint is the initial case document that sets forth the plaintiff’s legal claim…
What is a joint sponsor’s liability under the Form I-864, Affidavit of Support?
A joint sponsor (also called co-sponsor) has the same liability under an Affidavit of Support as the primary sponsor. By signing the USCIS Form I-864, the joint sponsor agrees to “joint and several” liability on the contract. The sponsored immigrant can sue the joint sponsor for financial support in state or federal court. A joint…
Can you enforce the Form I-864 Affidavit of Support in a divorce case?
Yes – in most states the USCIS Form I-864, Affidavit of Support can be enforced in a divorce case. A family law court has the authority to enforce the I-864 either (1) as a breach of contract claim or (2) through spousal maintenance (also called alimony). But as discussed below, divorce court is not necessarily…
USCIS Form I-864 enforcement in divorce court – another cautionary tale (Marriage of Bychina)
It is a theme that I have written about many times on this blog and elsewhere. Yes, the Affidavit of Support can theoretically be enforced in family law proceedings. But in practice, beneficiaries frequently encounter problems in that forum. Here is another example. Marriage of Bychina was a family law case in Illinois. See No.…
How do you calculate damages under the I-864, Affidavit of Support
In an important ruling for one of our I-864 enforcement clients, a Court ruled today that damages under the USCIS Form I-864, Affidavit of Support are determined based on taxable income. In Flores v. Flores, the Western District of Washington ruled that the term “income” is governed by the definition contained at 8 C.F.R. §…
How do you settle a claim under the USCIS Form I-864, Affidavit of Support?
As I explain elsewhere on this blog, almost all claims under the USCIS Form I-864, Affidavit of Support result in settlement. To get an idea of how long that process takes, read this post. Having settled many of these claims, here is an overview of how we generally approach settlement. What goes into an Affidavit…
Can you enforce the Form I-864 Affidavit of Support with a preliminary injunction?
Non-citizens needing to enforce the USCIS Form I-864, Affidavit of Support are usually in serious need of help. To have a claim under the Affidavit, their income needs to be below 125 percent of the poverty line. That’s about $1,400 per month for a household of one. But a lawsuit can take months or even…
What affirmative defenses are available to Form I-864 sponsors? None.
The Eleventh Circuit has held that the common law defenses of unclean hands, anticipatory breach, and equitable estoppel are unavailable to a sponsor who has signed a USCIS Form I-864, Affidavit of Support. Blevich v. Thomas, 17 F.4th 1048 (11th Cir. 2021). Belevich joins a growing line of cases that stand for the proposition that…
The federal right to immigration “alimony” under the Form I-864, Affidavit of Support
A version of this article first appeared in the Side Bar journal for the Litigation Section of the Federal Bar Association (Spring 2021). If you are like most federal litigators – this author included – you would never enter divorce court unless your name was on the case caption. The vitriol, the sabotage, the meanness.…
How long does the I-864 support last?
A sponsor's obligation under the Form I-864 lasts indefinitely. It terminates only upon one of five Terminating Events, including when the green card holder has 40 quarters of work or becomes a U.S. citizen. It *does not* terminate automatically after ten years, even though lawyers mistakenly